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General Guide by Pheyniex

This build has been archived and is for historical display only.

PLEASE NOTE: This build has been archived by the author. They are no longer supporting nor updating this build and it may have become outdated. As such, voting and commenting have been disabled and it no longer appears in regular search results.

Not Updated For Current Season

This guide has not yet been updated for the current season. Please keep this in mind while reading. You can see the most recently updated guides on the browse guides page.

Defense:
21

Utility:
5

Welcome!

This is a first for me... Hello, i'm Pheyniex and I have played LoL for almost a year in the EUW servers. I'm definatly not a professional and have a low ELO, btw. This is just a statement of what I learned form playing and reading fellow players from Moba, for example. I hope you find this informative, somehow.

I should stress this now, as it will be said again, later on: Items, Runes and Masteries may not be the correct ones and most probably not the best ones. Take it as a mere suggestion with some theory and imagination poured into it. DO NOT TAKE THEM SERIOUSLY/TO HEART. You can check champion dedicated guides for it.

The Metagame

Currently, metagame is very fast-paced, requiring very early objectives and lane control for a rather short game. This demands high early game damage with moderate CC. Such makes certain champion options unviable due to dependance of items or low sustain for ganks or even lack of reliable crowd control. Besides, a tank isn't really going to deal a lot of damage.

A tank and his duty

Even though there are plenty to suit your tastes, all share a trait, and such is what defines them: call to themselves and soak up "tons of damage". As much as possible. A tank is the champion made to take damage since your kit and probable build path make you as such. Items such as B. F. Sword, etc. are banned from this guide, therefore, if you are a "omg, i want killzzzzzz" freak, refrain yourself from reading this further.

Tanking requires a sense of team spirit and sacrifice. Needless to say you have to be in tone with your teammates, since you can make them comfortable but you have little possibility to deal damage. Besides this, you should be carefull of your choice and play accordingly. Next will be some examples of tanks in certain team compositions and probable roles. Please understand these will be mere examples and alternatives can be provided for the same playstyle.

Standard Meta-team:

This is a very common composition. A rather convetional and safe backline with Lux and Caitlyn for high damage output and a Volibear+ Renekton frontline that is very solid unless if really far behind. Moderate AoE and CC, can easily be disrupted due to the permeability of the frontline. Can respond rather well to certain hard-engage comps but will always have a rough time against well built assassination, since the only real bodyguard is Lulu and she is already rather fragile is caught offguard. Will only beat poke comps if lucky (enemy out of position, etc.) or has really early advantage.

Hard-Engage Comp (standard layout/protect the adc):

I admit this comp will fail hard if noone is aware of what Amumu is doing, even worse if all Amumu can do is try to iniciate. This composition can not have hard engage by removing the mummy and adding a jungler like Xin Zhao, sometimes requiring an obvious mistake from the adversary. As written above, the point is to protect an AD-carry, especially one with no escape mechanism or no defensive abilities. In this specific case, hard-engage provides flexibility in the team's strategy allowing easier objective control and pressing advantage more easily. Notice a very defensive backline and a rather menacing frontline wall with CC and durability/sustain.

Hard-Engage AoE (Wombo-Combo/Instakill):

A composition that relies heavily on very high burst, AoE and coordination. Usually hard to play against since it requires a change in the majority of player's behavior. Champions that can manage to face such compositions have CC mitigation and/or high range abilities, meaning it will be hard to engage on the whole team simultaneously. Also, there is usually a key element to the team, and that is usually the primary iniciator. Forcing him to low farm and experience implies forcing this team to fight in terms it is not quite comfortable with. Also, very tanky teams can resist to the initail burst enough to retaliate. A very objective oriented team for assured control of late game.

All In (Duo role tanks):

I picked this example because it is rather iconic of Maokai's role while jungling: feed your laners and have a pleasant game. Even though it fits as a Hard-Engage team, all these champions are very mobile and can respond immediately to an iniciation, usually from Leona or Maokai. Since the other 3 provide a very high damage output both tanks can protect whoever needs, usually the priority being the adc. However, Leona fits the bodyguard role much better. As with the previous example, this team will have problems with a high CC and tanky backline and a very sustained output of a frontline, like Riven or Irelia.

Poke/Disengage:

Regardless of Shen or Blitzcrank, Jayce and Nidalee are the "to-go options" of poke and disengage due to high range and mobility. A team that can not require a tank and, frequently, is associated with split-push strategies (as ilustrated with Shen). Since also the presence of Blitzcrank is a double-edged sword in this example, a more reliable one would be Janna or Lulu, for example. Displacement abilities like Rocket Grab and hard-engage compositions can tear this strategy apart, if done correctly. Can press objectives with low coordination required. Can often only win with early advantage.

Engage-Split and Engage-Disengage:

A team that exels at managing teamfights. Can engage to press advantage or deny engage if behind or simply is in a bad spot. Nautilus can engage, as well as Varus, easily while the primary managers for disengage (or just shuffle and redo) are Janna and Gragas, the latter having a decent follow-up kit. Nautilus also aids in disengage while Jax is flexible with Leap Strike and Counter Strike. Needs really tight coordination and awareness, being its downfall a bad early game or a team with harder engage.

Beefy Sustained Damage

Works as a very annoying frontine with rather high dps, as well as being rather tanky, even if not the best example for engagement (this one has a rather good one, but you can imagine Trundle instead of Sejuani). Another objective oriented team, however, very tanky and disciplined. If lacking hard engage, very weak against poke. Always rather bad against split-push due to low mobility and very susceptible to disengage (counter-iniciation, to be more exact) and high sustain champions like Akali (especially if low on CC).

All In (Dunk comps):

Manmode, because carries are for sissies. High damage output and tankiness. Kitable, susceptible to poke but hard to engage on.

High-mobility Map control:

Similar to the standard meta team presented above, this specific example exels for its high mobility, depending or even inherently roaming since laning phase for map control. Can be coupled with Teleport and might have no need for engage while permanently crossing the map to push lanes and claim objectives. Frequently relies on element of surprise and negating vision. Picking champions like Sona help on teamfight stability. Rarely applied beyond laning since it demands some coordination.

Champions Resume

SPACE

A rather safe pick in S2, the new jungle hurt him a bit. He now has a hard time if he wants to see some game. Maybe support. Probably not. If you find somewhere to play him I'm sure you will provide plenty of utility and CC.

Alistar allows two playstyles and both require a bit of fearlessness and calculation. AP cow is very scary. It allows for one sided trades and a very interesting heal. Also, Unbreakable Will helps his viability, keeping his damage type mixed. Another possibility, tanky Cow, has very unimpressive damage, but an amazing ability to survive and create the most awkward initiations, such as simply walking by, like nobody's business, and Headbutt someone into your team. However, he will work way better on protecting the backline, since his kit is rather defensive.

To Headbutt or not to Headbutt, such is the question. To answer it you must know who/where/when. Alistar is another dude that can deal perfectly with channelers ( Katarina is already crying in a corner), so you can use it anyway you want on them, or simply Pulverize (more later on this skill). I think it can be prioritized this way:

Your carry is being harassed and you can force the criminal AWAY FROM HIM

Your almost dead carry is runing alongside you and followed by a potential threat

An easy target (not Amumu or Malphite) is between you and your team. This changes if they are loners.

An enemy is closeby and you can initiate on him (use the combo to root him)

Of course, this will invalidate any situation you have an advantage but Headbutting them would just send them away. You will feel a lot of rage if you do this.
A little resume on the rest: Pulverize is great. As a PbAoE knockup, it has quite a radius. Make sure it lands, as it is embarrasing to Pulverizenothingness. Triumphant Roar is something that makes you viable in a number of spots: support, jungle, maybe toplane (mana dependant, though). Pay attention, as if you don't heal any of your teammates with it you might be into some trouble.
The ultimate Unbreakable Will is very good, since it allows you to run from sticky situations. I admit iniciation is not very easy for you (there is a good chance you won't need to do it) but if you have to, this will save your leather.
He's seeing more bans recently and it is very expected. The CC is very annoying and provides a lot of control in teamfights, since KU and KB can't be mitigated, only negated by effects like Ragnarok and Black Shield. Also, too tanky not to notice.

Even if you grab him by the horns, you'll get a tough nut to crack. His base stats make him tanky without items. If you have an Alistar in tour team, he probably won't let you down. Altough a good Blitzcrank can make his life hell , namely if the carry ta(n)kes no precautions.

Yes, he is famous and he deserves it. People should give him more hugs =)
I remember the year before I started playing, I used to see my brother play once in a while. You people probably remember the time HE WAS ALWAYS BANNED!

And the is a reason for that. Amumu brings AoE. More than that he brings a AoE STUN. You can take a closer look to Curse of the Sad Mummy. This devastates any team. When to use it? Easy: just Bandage Toss to the middle of them and start the partay!

SO... what's the catch? In the current meta he has to jungle and he depends on the team for damage. This has consequences:

He has mana issues so he will enjoy every moment of BlueBuff by crying a lot, but be very sad without it by not crying (the wierdness....)

Has no dueling skills and is very hindered by counterjungling.

Usually has to land Bandage Toss for a good gank. (trust me, not easy)

Even if you land perfect stuns, your team might not get it and you are left to die 1v5.

Amumu likes blue golem a lot but taking it from him does not hurt him as it used to. Also, counterjungling is now less profitable and he likes that. He still is rather frail and awkward before his level 6. Certainly a stun like Bandage Toss helps very much. It is a skillshot, meaning you have to be carefull with your aim. A missed Bandage Toss means a potentially wasted gank. Must you also remember, without items you fall fast, therefore there is usually higher risk while playing Amumu. Regardless of this risk, he can make the game if good damage is dealt while Curse of the Sad Mummy is in effect. Even if he is behind, he can win games as long as he lets his passive out and the team follows with some decent damage and focus. His build is rather flexible, not only depending on what his team need, but also what the opposing team is showing off. Mainly, he can get some AP through Items like Rod of Ages, Abyssal Scepter or even Zhonya's Hourglass to make Despair more interesting, especially now that getting HP is very appealing.

He isn't really slow jungling. What makes him so popular, besides this, is his ability to let carries feel rather comfortable with providing all their damage with no reservtions.
Even if you don't initiate, Amumu can still play a good role in the middle of the mess. Besides, he will always make sure the Curse of the Sad Mummy is not wasted, since it will turn the tides of battle (hopefully).

Fisrt I was hesitant. Then I became a fan. He's versatile. He can carry games by building DPS, turn a stalemate 5v5 into an unfair 1v5. He can tank, and that's what this is about. His path these days is not easy, since he has the tough role or Support. He brings no sustain to his carry and can be cauntered by a knowleagable LoL player. Also, he likes to stack mana, and this can be a problem as a support.

Rocket Grab is what he is known for. Can be his glory and his demise. Still, you have plenty of CC, including a low CD ultimate. How does this guy works? By displacement. If the enemy team has very rigid positioning, this is where Blitzcrank can SHINE!!!!. Of course, maybe laning wasn't quite easy because enemy minions were always in the way, or your carry needed some sustain you can't provide (otherwise, your carry is fed and it's GAMEOVER). Landing DECENT Rocket Grabs is what you should focus first. Your tank role comes if your team is initiated on or you failed a Rocket Grab.
At last, if your mana pool is still big enough (you should have some mana items for this) you can bait the enemy team to get you when you have low HP. You will take longer to die since Mana Barrier will pop. Take advantage of this.

Really?? You can't land a Rocket Grab as Blitzcrank? I understand... Well, keep trying. In other news, they are coming to you! What can i do? Simple answer, you have enough CC to be annoying. Blitzcrank is a fine pick against channeled abilities ( Malzahar, Nunu, etc.) Also you are very versatile: your carry is being chased? Rocket Grab that annoying offtank. Can't land it? Overdrive to Power Fist. Too many things (problematic ones) going on? Pop your Static Field. LeBlanc will be useless for a while and Kassadin and Lee Sin will stop jumping around for a bit too.
The deal is: you have to be patient about using your abilities (spam Overdrive all you want, lol). If you need to spam it, spam on another spammer like Cassiopeia.
About the build: Your passive calls for mana. A lot of it, so what's the problem? The only thing that resembles a Support item and gives mana is Frozen Heart. You'll have to improvise to look like a tank and still be able to do your support job. This is ill advice, but if my team is doing well, I usually skip Shurelya's Reverie and Aegis of the Legion (BTW, if I'm Amumu this is a frequent item to build), build Frozen Heart and probably Randuin's Omen, coming from Heart of Gold. However, check if your teammates are not building the same auras as you. It will create redundancies you'll probably won't profit from. Also, you should consider early CDR. If your foes know you have big cooldowns and you just missed a Rocket Grab, you should expect some harass. I suggest Ionian Boots of Lucidity.
It's easy for Blitzcrank to allow for a win in lane, making his life easier in regard to managing his gold. However, GP5 items are still decent on him and will provide a good start. Be unexpected and annoying. Otherwise you're just scrap. And make sure your carry is safe and comfortable.

Blitzcrank is an odd champion to fit in teams. Either way, landing successful grabs makes you win games. And by successful, who you pull matters as well. Don't pull Amumu, Alistar or even Morgana. You'll just make their lives easier.

I have unlocked him, but I know someone that plays him better than me, therefore he stays here... because I still don't wish the world i know to end... Anyway, HP stacker, hungry fellow... A good pack of CC ( Rupture plus Feral Scream) including a surprise True damage Feast. Where does he fit? ANYWHERE!

Well, maybe not quite, since Vayne loves killing him and Jax or Nasus don't mind facing him in lane. Either way, this... monster has plenty of CC to protect carries and annoy carries and everyone. Now he has started being popular in jungle with some nice ganking, but really, the farm is what he wants.
On another note, careless Cho'Gath players have a high rate of KS, intended or not, and this may hinder carries to lategame (this is now known as the Darius sindrome).

This is a special guy. Take Spiked Shell and give it a magic twist, you'll get Runic Skin. This gives him a very unique personality and a big counterpick. Sure, you can pick Galio anytime you desire. However, I must say he might run into some problems against an AD-heavy team. Still, if you see Swain top in enemy team and a LeBlanc is picked, this is your lucky day. You might have a bit of a pain against Swain, but you will make LeBlanc frown the whole game.

Aside from my problematic indecision on build, the great key on Galio is using Idol of Durand. Since it is a PbAoE Taunt, you have to get there. The standard tactic is using Flash, certainly raising issues because it is constantly nerfed. You are basically Amumu whitout Bandage Toss, and Flashing in means you probably won't get out. Make sure you get as many foes as possibly. If you are forgotten by the opposing team, it will be fairly easier. Still, this will call for your tankiness and you probably will initiate much like I described in Morgana's section. Also, you might reconsider buying Abyssal Scepter if there is no other magic damage dealer. It would be a waste of an aura. Adjust your build to the opposition and your team's needs. (you might end up needing to buy Thornmail, who knows) Adding insult to injury, S3 asks for more HP due to very accessible resistance penetration, hurting Galio on two fronts: firstly, you'd rather build Mres than HP and it will easily be negated with Arcane Knowledge and Haunting Guise. Secondly, everyone else will build HP. Since your ratios are low, itemization is very bad for Galio at the moment. He can work, but not in a consistent way.

Mostly a counterpick, IMO, Galio can still bring penance to your enemies. Even if you have problems iniciating, Malphite will love you and you might just add a lot to an Enchanted Crystal Arrow. Remember, this guy is unique since there is no other Mres oriented tank. I started seing him toplane and support, but his place is mid, not as an AP-carry but a more annoying role than Xerath: Control the opposing midlaner. You'll easily shutdown bullies like LeBlanc, Cassiopeia and other popular AP midlaners.

After a very long time with bugs and unforseen nerfs, he's back. A very popular pick since early S3, Jarvan IV is idealized as an AS dependant bruiser, but players now see in him a power to fulfil other roles. Always on the frontline, though! Competitively seen as a jungler, he can succeed as a normal laner, maybe as support if played right.

He is very mobile, his passive Martial Cadence fits very well some new and popular AD picks. Regardless of being AD heavy comps or not, he can bring a rather scary gank to your lane. Overall, he can build fairly flexibily, from full tank to ADC, most usually going as a bruiser.

Concerning iniciation, he has a good package for it. However I consider Cataclysm as a ability to secure kills (flawed one, btw). I think a Dragon Strike to a Demacian Standard is a very safe option. Use Golden Aegis right after for a decent slow, so take the chance. Also consider aiding your carries with your CC combo. The is also a possibility to add Cataclysm or even Flash to your combo, making your gapclosing potential huge. However, be sure not to blow such CD's so carelessly, since a mere Flash, Tumble, Arcane Shift, etc. can completely negate your effort.
Even though his kit is very intuitive, it might take a bit more to really make a Jarvan IV play impressive. For Cataclysm, it is very important that you can manage to trap the largest amount of enemies inside. This is important is you are setting up AoE combos, like Bullet Time, but usually it is simply important to conceal and limit the movements of the adversary.

Wait... did you see this guy? He certainly didn't see you! However this guy has plenty of tricks up his sleeve (have you noticed he's shirtless?). He will stay here since I still don't feel confident enough about playing him. He's classified as an assassin but he does rather well without very ofensive items, therefore profiting from building rather tanky. His first power comes for jumping around in a fight with ease. Managing your Sonic Wave and Safeguard is a big deal to this: One for offence, other for defence.

In tanking matters, Safeguard plays an important role, since you can shild a key teammate or just teleport to Dragon's Rage them offtanks away. Also Tempest is a great asset and dueling skill. This can save a fleeing ally or secure a kill. To initiate you have to hit someone out of position, possibly after tagging with Sonic Wave. You will rarely see using Dragon's Rage for this, since it can be successfully used to protect your team from getting swalloed. You can also use it to secure a very important kill, like a carry. Also, make sure you tag Tempest on AS stackers (usually a AD-carry or Jax, Nocturne or Udyr*)

*may not really be an AS stacker, but their skillset make the values a bit scary.
^I don't see Hextech Gunblade fail on him, but I never see it on him. Trinity Force is recomended, but it is rarely built.

Did you bring shades? You have to be carefull when facing this lady. Even though she is only seen as support, she will make it a very agressive lane. She basically has 3 ways to stun and everything begins with Zenith Blade. It's big advantage is it doesnt fail in case of hitting a minion, like Rocket Grab. Make sure your lane is sustained, since she is very agressive and cannot provide sustain to her carry.

She will have a hard time keeping up, as she will need some items to survive and do her job decently in team fights. Either way, being able to teleport around the team fight stunning or helping with damage is a great asset.
Ponder well when to use Solar Flare since it has a rather large cooldown and can be avoided. On other notes, you can trigger your Shield of Daybreak after a Zenith Blade on a key target. Everything will be ok and you will probably land a profitable Solar Flare. Keep your Eclipseup as much as possible during any fight, bearing in mind it will trigger Sunlight on your allies's damage. Leona can very well stomp a lane. However, this can be a hard achievement. the only thing she will definaly provide is higher burst and lane control. Nothing more. your best option to pick her is knowing already what you'll be facing in lane and a good AD carry will know what to pick against his lady (curiously, the top tier picks) Her life will be hard if somehing like Ezreal and Taric come to face you. or, you can just play carefully and be an awesome initiator. Also remember that a considerable amount of your output is on the passive, so having someone with you is usually very important.

Unlocked as well, but hardly played. I never get a situation to use him. Fast jungler, ok ganker, surprising midlaner (seen it, never tried) and a fortification in toplane. Bear in mind, Ap toplane renders you rather useless and you must be carefull always with your mana pool, regardless. You can harass, shrug off some and farm ok. If you read well, he is a tank that calls for HP Granite Shield and armor Ground Slam.

If you don't need any of this in your team, pick Galio. Other problem with this guy it that he has problems protecting the team. Usualy he is best with another CC beast like Amumu or Cho'Gath. In that regard, probably Sona will team up with you nicelly. In this case, the best iniciation comes from simulating a retreat, then Crescendo picking the most enemies possible, followed by an Unstoppable Force before the end of the stun. This usually never fails in any team, but to Malphite is crutial. He can still to OK on his own, by the ability to protect the team is almost limited to the ultimate.
I mainly see this guy as a counterpick. He is sometimes banned for such reason and that is he is very effective against AS teams. Ground Slam and building Frozen Heart is a big deal in AD-AS shutdown, namely Vayne.

He's awesome. When he's free, I can't avoid playing him. He's a great option. His ganks are on par with Rammus'. However, I cannot say the same about his lategame. He is mainly seen jungling, but he can lane, as an odd thing to face, because he makes use of range to harass Sapling Toss. However this is not popular, since he is very mana hungry.

He can jungle decently and in a rather sustained way thanks to bluebuff or Philosopher's Stone and Sap Magic. For this you should start with Sapling Toss, max Arcane Smash (more spammable than Sapling Toss) and unlock Twisted Advance when about to gank.
You can initiate as well as you gank. Twisted Advance will punish anyone out of position, just making them wait for your team. You can use it through walls, too! Plus you can reduce the damage dealt to your team with Vengeful Maelstrom. However be carefull since this drains plenty of your mana. In resume, this guy works best at granting kills and frontlining, not so much at providing damage.

Took me a while to unlock her. Now i'm a witness to her power. (B00bs!) Every one knows it. Perma ban, unless there is some wit in your bans/first pick. You may find this build wierd. It was midlane and was about to trade with someone but that person had no viable champs for that game we could trade (I thought she had Nasus. She didn't and went Ahri top vs Darius XD)

So, we had an AP carry top (nothing new there), a standard sustain duo botlane (pretty normal) and a squishy jungler(not the best choice there, but i can't control others. Shaco he was). My thoughts were "Oh hell, we have no tank". At my first recall I got nervous wondering how could I turn the tides. A squishy team with no tank is just playing a sentenced game. I knew if I asked everyone to build a bit tanky noone would listen and we could fall off because we had no damage. Fortunatly it was a draft mode and I managed the bans to first-pick Morgana. There are some other circumstances to it as well:

The game was very even. We managed to get kills because the team was very offence-oriented. However, we were too swuishy to survive. We were usually ahead, but never more than 3 kills.
I don't remember my laning opponent. However, I was frequently able to push the lane to gank bot or countergank, sometimes balancing with a kill or assist.

"Tank Morgana? Tell me all about how pro you are." I can't say I'm a professional, but I was working with the needs of the team and investigating the possibility. I honestly belive I made a majority of correct decisions, yielding the best result possible. Her skillset makes it easier, however it isn't a piece of cake. You will notice you will have a hard time dealing damage. Might hurt your eyes but you should expect this. You will enjoy the most time you can to farm and whatever kill and assist you can get. Hopefully, all turrets are sill standing and you have a build looking like this:

Tanking as Morgana requires a bit of balls (sorry ladies) and making sure you do enough for your team to deal their damage and come back as alive as possible (as any other tank, but with this girl it may be a bit harder). See how Amumu starts a fight? Ok, now without Bandage Toss... See how Rammus starts a fight? Ok, now without Powerball. It's true. Locking someone with Dark Binding can be a great key to success. In worst case scenario, you'll have to walk up there, pop your Soul Shackles, then your Zhonya's Hourglass active, praying meanwhile you survive their CC. A risky move you can pull out is going in without the shield, only using it when already in between them. You'll have to be fast and accurate in this scenario, allowing for a bigger surprise (beter iniciation). Fortunalty, the enemy team will either panic or focus you and, as you might know from your experience, NEVER FOCUS THE TANK.
Wait, I have an image for that...:

Morgana is capable of a lot, and that's why she is normally banned. This game ended up going quite well since they were very tightly grouped and my team understood my movements. Any other way and i'd just be dead meat. Still open for discussion at MOBAfire Forum.

My second unlocked champion (First being ashe)! Lucky me, I read plenty about this guy before playing him. Why did I do it? Train last-hitting! If you fail, you'll crush your head into a wall because you'll suck lategame, where you should SHINE!!!! If you survive the first 20 min with decent farm and no enemy fed, the game is yours. =D

Why is he in this list? Because he doesn't need items to damage! I've seen some Nasus build Bloodthirster first... then I facepalmed so hard. Don't know what I'm talking about? Siphoning Strike: 'Nuff said.
While laning, you just want to farm and stay alive. You favorite lanes are champs that farm a lot as well, since you profit a lot more from it. Better even, they have a bad ganker! That's your Nasus heaven.

How does this guy fit the tank role? Yes, tricky question, since he is, in fact, an offtank. Let's put it this way: Either they kill you first and get killed by your carry, or they kill your carry and die to you. Simple, right? That's why Nasus should be tanky. Siphoning Strike can deal 1000 damage ("tons of damage", by Phreak) once you get Trinity Force. Also it's an AA reseter! Meaning, once you use it, you can attack imideatly after your last AA! However, the only way you can help your carry is by using Wither on the biggest threat to them. Not the best but it is rather good already! This W is any Ad's nightmare. Use it well!

Nowadays, Nasus tends to be forgotten as a menace and may not be shutdown when he should. Since he doesn't look to pick a fight too often, he will play really safe and might be hard to reach. He should be ganked and harassed often so he can't farm. He is also a loner, so this can be taken advantage of, as well. Nasus is an endgame powerhouse and should be taken seriously.

He's famous for his CC package, but i'm not a pro, so I hardly play him well. When you could play freebies on ranked, he could be my choice, if Rammus wasn't the perfect pick and Maokai wasn't around either. And he his banned at 1900+ elo for a reason. This guy is scary. However, I'm a tank and manage to die a lot with him, so you can just ignore what you are about to read.

Still interested? Well I have to say he jungles ok and has a very neat package. First thing I noticed was his MS. I mean... even Ryze can outrun you... or should i regard it as compensation for Dredge Line? Speaking of which, just half the awesomeness of Rocket Grab, in my opinion, since it will bring you to them as well and, therefore, will present with more risks to you. I belive Overdrive to Rocket Grab a bit more reliable than constantly using Dredge Line on terrain to get there.
I don't find his base HP awesome as well and since he really doesn't call for anything (maybe a bit of HP from Titan's Wrath, but hardly noticeable) I really did not take the time to understand his early needs. On the other hand, a gapcloser (or halfgrab, or whatever) with a AoE slow and a Knockup. Unfortunatly it's a bit hard for myself to make it land more than once and the target can just Flash and be knocked-up far away from any of your teammates to take advantage of it. He might need a bit of work by it's user, but it will probably be worthwhile. Another problem with me playing this guy is landing attacks. Last note: If you aren't paying attention, your attack won't land and your Staggering Blow won't trigger. Make sure you are patient enough (not like me) for your attack to actually hit. Mostly remember that he is a ganking threat that easily stays ahead. Do not give him such luxury.

I have him because he's cheap. Only play him for funsies. He has seen his share of the league. People seem to pick more Nunu now that everyone remembered to Absolute Zero while in a bush. I must say, I think his most notorious ability is Consume. It is a huge double edged sword. Makes you a great jungler and counterjungling threat.

However, it is useless in teamfights, especially if there are no minions around. His contradictions don't stop here. All his abilities scale with AP and his Visionary demands AS, even though it's a very indecent passive for lategame. I have tried to AD/AS him. The squishiness is rather disturbing. So, the best you can do is Blood Boil your carry, constantly, and Ice Blast whenever you can. The AS debuff can be annoying, so pairing up with Ezreal will put you to an advantage.
Ever heard of the expression "more useless than Malphite in teamfights"? That's Nunu incapable of landing a decent Absolute Zero. This calls for care when picking him. He can barely protect anyone. All he will do is provide a massive slow. However, he will combine nicelly with another AoE CC machine like Amumu (why the hell is this guy everywhere?).
Besides, since in S3 counterjungling is not that profitable, he has been seen as a very annoying toplanes with rather decent success. His strenght is sustain, so burst him down.

This guy. Love him. You might not, but i don't care. One of the first champs I unlocked and I couldn't be disappointed. He's amazing. I used to lane him with Fortify. Now it's bit sad that i really can't choose him as much.

Those were the days. Now i'm forced to jungle with him, but... He's still a powerhouse. Describing his CC is unneeded. How many of you have fallen to a very annoying Puncturing Taunt? Oh yeah. He's a tank, but he can do a bit more. Due to Meta (yeah, blame the meta...) it's hard to find AD-heavy teams to go Thornmail. This item makes Rammus into an anti-carry*. Powerball->hit-> Puncturing Taunt-> Defensive Ball Curl+ Tremors->Light a cigarette-> watch carry die. Ah... Thoses were the days...

"Wait, is there a catch?" Sailor, to face the sea, ye must drink ye RUM!
He needs Items. Yes he does. And you have to build properly. My Blind pick days always called for a Thornmail, until I faced the following team: LeBlanc, Nunu, Veigar, Cassiopeia, Orianna. The only armor I built was Guardian Angel. As always you'll have to build accordingly. That game I almost disregarded the passive Spiked Shell, to make myself more effective as a tank.
Since now "you have to jungle" as Rammus, you'll witness a very mana hungry champion. But the ganks... Oh, the ganks. If a gank doesnt grant a kill, it will make the victim think twice about reaching out for farm. As you can see, I max Puncturing Taunt first: the longer the cc, more damage they will take. As I will mention again, make sure you build HP while building up your armor (or Mres, as necessary) and I hope Complexicate's Guide will help you understand why. This will be not such a problem here if you like Sunfire Cape. Personally, I'd rather have a Randuin's Omen, but I complete it rather late.

Either way, he is sometimes banned. Wards and unpushed lanes will hinder him, since he isn't a great jungler. As example, Amumu is a bit faster and is more usefull with less items. If Rammus doesn't get an assist (kill would be awesome if your laner cant do it) he'll easily fall behind. Your Rammus day is the day someone picks Talon for mid and Darius for top (mere example) and this Armordillo isn't banned. Remember, you are a ganking machine, you should be ganking whenever you can, but don't leave your jungle unprotected! (we'll talk when Fortify comes back). Please remember that you don't respond well to counterjungling, so be carefull and ask for some wards at jungle entrance (for Amumu as well). Make sure ur ganks can be successfull, or you will be wasting jungle time.

Seems wierd and Riot is never happy about him. On the other side, he naturally builds tanky! If i'm not sure what I should get as a midlaner (post bans and unecessary MRes verification), I pick Ryze. I'm never disappointed. And, I must say, I'm not that great of a midlaner (I play a decent Lux and sometimes LeBlanc, though*). The wierdness of this guy comes from scaling with his Mana Pool. This is key, mainly since there are not many items providing Mana, yelding the same issues as Blitzcrank, but not the same problems.

If you didn't get that last statement, I'll explain: Ryze wants to build mana to deal damage and there aren't many Items providing it (shame on you, Riot). To Ryze this is somewhat ok, but not quite to his fellow robot, as you'll read later. You yave probably seen Ryze builds a lot around Catalyst The Protector, not to mention Saphire Crystal. Here begins the big item issue, since there isn't a more expensive basic tier item for mana, as there is for health, like Giant's Belt (example: +350 Mana item costing 765g, would you support it? =D). Besides, you have already low movement speed, are you sure you want to go the ultra-ap-squishiness path? I never take it. The fun of this guy is that he (too) can rush Banshee's Veil and get away with it. Is that a Sion in your lane? Too bad the stun doesnt work anymore...

As Ryze my behaviour is as odd as his "mana-carry" build. I take the liberty (tha balls) to facecheck bushes and my team is confident enough to follow me. However this has to be well calculated. You are not a cheetah, you resemble more of a snail. You have to be aware when it's time to get out. One way or the other, since you were the first to arrive, make sure you are the last to leave (tanking duty), preferably alive. You have to be comfortable about being in the frontline, ready to Rune Prison someone or simply poke with an Overload. If it's 5v5 walking around in lane looking for iniciation, you should definatly not be the one to do it, since you'd do it horribly. Also, your Desperate Power aids in this tanking role. Furthermore, if the game takes too long and noone else has it, I grab a Will of the Ancients, a spammer's best friend.
Be aware of your capability of helping your team. While you are mainly built to dispach damage, your Rune Prision can save someone, don't forget it!
Also, Ryze does rather well in TTT, despite his low MS. Again, this is due to the tankiness of his standard build. Usually a very good pick because of this. On low ELO the lane will probably be a duo, bringing some problems on farm. However, playing safe is always a good golden rule.

Ryze has frightned early game, a wierd mid game and a surprising lategame. Be carefull, and you'll have your earnings. Although not a complete tank, you'll help your tank nicelly by walking alongside him. If it has to be you, use the map wisely. The junlge and bushes can help you in that regard. And be sure your team is with you.

Do you like girls that ride? Don't take me wrong, but this girl is fine. She has her problems since release but she will hardly fail as a tank. She has sustain issues in the jungle, but she can top. She can, altough she doesn't deal big damage. This currently adds up to picking her if you really need her skillset. I must admit there are better choices (she envies Amumu) but she can get the job done.

Jungle: for more on that check Hahano's "Who Is Your Jungler And What Does He Do?" In resume, she's not so bad.
Toplane: It's tricky. To pick her toplane you must be sure you are not facing a sustained bruiser. Even if it's just a bruiser, think twice. You easily push lanes after you get some levels. Arctic Assault and Northern Winds can clear a creepwave. This is good if, example, Mordekaiser is laning against you, altough you might not want to face him. This is your job in lane. It is to hold it. Same job as any tanky laners.

What she gives to the team is a different story. Glacial Prison (another skillshot, i know...) has the same effect as Curse of the Sad Mummy (btw you can make a paralel between Sejuani and Amumu, while Permafrost is slightly different from Tantrum). So, why pick it over Amumu? She has a Frozen Mallet and a Rylai's Crystal Scepter incorporated in Frost (and Permafrost). Still, I admit the values are a bit of a joke, as well as her AP ratios. This makes her a very good chaser. The bad side is that she needs someone to do the the damage. Because of this, the team must be well coordinated and rather tanky, since her only hard-CC is the ulti. On the other hand, she can offer sustained PbAoE, magnified if Frost is active. This is a subtle grinder in teamfights altough makes a lot of difference if you fell behind in farm/Items.

In resume, she works well, when the requirements are met. However, there are noticeble better options and you usually depend more on your team than usual. And trust me, you'll have fun playing her. I'm working on getting her on my radar again. I look forward to play her again. I went mid once with her. Not sure I can do it again.
Also have to add that besides working to pass terrain, Arctic Assault breaks fabricated walls like Crystallize and Cataclysm.

Coming from slightly underplayed to PERMABANLAND. So, how do I manage to play him? I go 3v3 like a Coward and make them Darius faceroll. The Twisted Treeline (TTT) requires mobility and tankiness. Tankiness, well.. you're Shen, duh... Mobility is easy as well: you can Shadow Dash through walls and Stand United can put you anywhere for a sweet assist.

Shen is not about map control. It's about MAP DOMINATION. Why Exhaust, you might ask. I use it for balance: I usually go TTT with someone that likes to play carry. He takes Heal, I take Exhaust and take toplane. Since Darius was released none has won a lane, and this is probably true in 5v5 toplane. However, Exhaust secures kills, IMO, better than Ignite.
The other deal about TTT is that you must own the jungle. Since it is pretty much shared by both sides, it is a space for contention. Shen can secure it from Lv5 rather well, using for various purposes (No Smite, though!). This thanks to his passive Ki Strike, Q Vorpal Blade, and W Feint. This also makes him work ok in 5v5 jungle, making very sustained, altough rather slow at start (hint: with alacrity reds, you can jungle starting with Ruby Crystal, trust me. Much better itemwise, IMO.).

I have to think a bit to notice what are his problems. I don't think it's quite linear, but when you think about it... Shen loves stacking HP. This is a problem: stacking HP will only make your efective health go to 5k instead of 15K. For that you must build Armor and MResist. But you are a tank and it shouldnt be a problem. The other problem is your team's behaviour. Altough you can teleport to anywhere your teammates are, they have to be a bit defensive. This is because your ninja tool has a INSANE cooldown (notice Ionian Boots of Lucidity). Thus, you may be blamed for their carelessness. Shen is the second taunter in this "guide", and I think this is an underused mechanic, like blindness, although they are rather powerfull. With this grade, we increase the risk of using the taunt ( Rammus: one target + stacks armor = Fine, Shen: Multiple targets + stacks HP = OK, Galio: Multiple targets + Stacks MRes = OUCH).
On another taunting note: Since the rework, I'm still not really sure that changing the CD of the passive from "being hit" to "per attack" fits, especially because he... (guess what) TAUNTS!

(One month later...)

Lately I've been able to play Shen in Summoner's Rift draft, jungle, toplane and support! It was just 3 games with the ninja within 2 weeks. (not amazing, I know, but it's not frequent to get a spot to play Shen when i can play my dear Blitzcrank support because i'm last pick, lol) However, I can shout to the four winds I won them unquestionably. The impact of Stand United is much more noticeable in 5v5 since you can cover a larger distance and if 2 teammates die, you can still use it! And as you can see, this proves that my map awareness isn't still great. Also, Shen is much better if you can simply talk with your teammates.
Last note: Play Shen carefully if you are in a sustain lane. Cho'Gath can be annoying and Yorick won't care about you. However, you'll outshine them in map presence.

Can't not love Skarner. Altough he's only really good jungling, he's a professional at it. You like to spam? Crystal Slash will help... but what really allows this is the passive, Energize. Skarner is another of my favourite picks in free weeks. He has everything a great champion needs.

Spammable skills, MS buff and shield ( Crystalline Exoskeleton), sustain for you and friends with Fracture. However, he is dependant of Redbuff for CC, until you get Impale. This might sound laughable, but his initiation somewhat resembles Blitzcrank's. You walk around and wait for someone stupid enough to be Impaled. Crystalline Exoskeleton will aid you in this. Other thing that makes him great is being able to rush Trinity Force and feeling no need for anything else to deal damage (a bit like Nasus, with an obvious difference). There is another "item" Skarner needs and that is bluebuff. You can't spam witout a price. And this will make you invest in managing well your early game. His jungle start is, without argument (I belive) Regrowth Pendant into Philosopher's Stone. You can then boots and Sheen and stuff. I really enjoyed Trinity Force, but Iceborn Gauntlet is a very interesting choice for him, since he uses AP and CDR rather well.

Fabulous and now more interesting. He got a slight rework, making mana+armor builds very interesting and synergetic. He has been very popular in soloQ lately and that is easily due to his all-around kit. Armor is a basic tool to win trades in botlane.

Reminding me, you can build your armor and maybe your teammates won't need as much, although, comparably it is only better (compared to the old Shatter) if you have around 250 armor. I agree: if you are looking at that Frozen Heart you will get that number easy but remember that you are on support income and, unless you are running 30-21-x/x/21 (where x<=9) masteries, it seems acctually worse than S2. You will, therefore, reach such state very slowly. However, this last change allowed him to reach a certain tanky-bruiser status, due to his new passive with mana scaling. He will take ages to fill a Tear of the Goddess and so (again) Iceborn Gauntlet will be an item of choice.
Remember that your gameplay requires knowing who to stun and when. Your iniciation is only excelent if you can stun someone astray from the enemy team, and this means you just used your pro-active means of protecting someone (because Imbue is passive-agressive). Whatever lane/role you play and items you will use, you must remember that you are a very balanced and outrageous bodyguard.
Needless to say, you alone can be a counterpick to AD based teams, because of your aura.

Needless to say he's very good and I suck with him. Preferencial pick in competitive play, one of the reasons he works really well is his needlessness of farm while being dependant on farm. Indeed, all he wants are the lost souls of SR.

A very nice CC package and interesting mechanics make this one of the most popular picks, currently. He has Rocket Grab, Shunpo, reversible Moonfall and Cataclysm. Well, maybe less flawed than Cataclysm. He just needs you to train loads with him, since he is not so easy to play. Not only you have to take awareness of your position, but your carries' as well, otherwise Dark Passage will have no effect. Speaking of which, this is a HUGE playmaker ability. Lanegank Maokai is now too scary and fast to fail.
Another theory of mine is, if all goes well, you might only need to build a bit of mres and mainly HP, since armor and ap will come for free. Also remember your Death Sentence passive scales really well with AD, in case you decide to exploit such strategy.
As my last opinion, I must say he can have some really good engages, but all rely in your team's response. Furthermore, keep in mind that being a support may bring harsh consequances in case you decide to re-cast Death Sentence to instigate a fight. Requires good decision-making, since it can easily put you away.

Since you can read Nunu in this section, I can only be fair to mention Udyr. He qualifies better as an offtank, but he can do more than Nunu as a tank. Sure you will have a hard time against Ashe, Sivir or Vayne (etc...) but the ability to land a stun every 6 seconds cannot be disregarded. Bear Stance allows for some decent positioning to stun someone very annoying and powerfull.

Also, Udyr can build rather tanky and dish out some nice damage. For this Randuin's Omen is seen often on him. If noone else gets it, he will be fine with Frozen Heart (even though 20% CDR looks like a waste here).
Make sure your team does well without your damage. Too much tankiness on you will have bad consequences. You are made for damage a taking a beating, not taking a beating and avoid someone else to take a beating (even less, take someone else's beating). Sure, saving your carries is great but if they are focused too much, you have to make up for it and you can do it well, since you're an offtank.

You need someone to be hated? For me it's always this guy. Be tanky, have CC and still damage like a beast, helped by a built-in AS stacking ability. So this guy's job starts not really by protecting the teammates but by being really annoying. You will notice this when Chosen of the Storm triggers. Want to bring down a 3000HP bear? Make sure you have 900 more damage to give. Or at least that you can deal more than 150 damage/second, so you can outrun this passive. (obviously, this will yield larger numbers the more HP he has)

The only big CC is his Fling, Rolling Thunder. This is a position dependant skill, since you might aid a foe to reposition him nearer to safety. Back to being beefy, adding his ability to still deal decent damage has a wierd benefit, especially against more inexperienced players: Volibear will probably be focused. However, don't chose him for this feature because it may not be a safe ***uption this will happen. One of the reasons to choose him is having a rather squishy team with some kind of CC powerhouse. Other thing he brings is being balsy enought to just dive in and initiate on turrets, a bit worse Dr. Mundo in that aspect, probably, but with the added value of being able to punish mispositioning. And I should be a bit more clear on this opinion of mine: you will fill more of a Dr. Mundo or Sion role than of a tank. Maybe a bit better as a tank than them, but you'll do pretty much what they do.

Definitely not my cup of tea. Might I say he too borders tank status. As such, the great asset is being annoying as a mosquito at 4 in the morning and you have no idea where it has gone to while you try to kill it. With the added value of coming back to life... He's rather flexible with his build. I mean, Zac almost builds like Dr. Mundo but seems to have a bit more choice. He also works better toplane, currently and has more CC.

Some people like it, but I find the dependance on your blobs anti-climatic, especially because they pop in a random direction. However, if you manage to keep grabbing your blobs and, if needed, maximize their profit with Spirit Visage, for example, you can provide a fair amount of damage in a rather sustained way. He currently is more popular jungle and toplaner, maybe can midlane under certain circumstances.

Other Initiators and Facilitators

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Dark Flight is this guy's basic tool of "I wanna mess with you" and, if not, just a basic escape. However, if ahead he will simply splitpush all day because noone will be able to deal with him. Regardless, he can easily dive turrets due to his massive sustain potential and his ridiculous Blood Well.

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Although she might want to keep her distance, her Charm can be your friend. Pray she can land skillshots decenlty. Either way, she will avoid taking risks and going for it can be her demise. Probably you can bring another option as well.

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Every one has seen Enchanted Crystal Arrow in action. Maybe plenty of misses as well. Even if this is the only way your team has to initiate, it is a very good one. Hopefully she will know when to use it and it will be fine, since it will allow her to keep distance.

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Deluding your enemies and manipulating the map is a very powerfull tool. It can render the enemy team powerless, since there will be a large wall and a big ball of stun coming their way. The range is decent as well, so she gets points for it. On the other hand, it can be easily avoided

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It can be difficult and wierd. This is a two-piece iniciation, requiring a skillshot stun. Not the best, since it requires landind two spells successfully. Besides, he is a carry and will be prone to be initiated on. Avoid it

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Like anyone is stupid enough to fall into your Yordle Snap Trap. You can still try it... it won't hurt you to lay them around.

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You will probably use this as a last resource, but a surprise Petrifying Gaze is devastating anytime (I'm counting that the conditions are met). So if you are oddly comfortable into baiting them to fight, why not? Probably best as a turnaround move to stop the opposition, as in, the bloodshed already started.

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I still hate this guy. Even though he is tanky, he has noting to fullfil such role. Garen can do it a bit better with a silence and annoying damage. But Darius has something valuable that Garen does not and that is Apprehend. Be carefull though, you will pull anything in it's range

May be an assassin built fr AP, but dealing damage in percentage health goes a long way. You can save yourself with Cocoon so you may have chances to provoke a fight or start one. Also, Cocoon can save someone, requiring it to be used carefully.

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Chum the Waters. Need anymore to say? I think it is obvious and rather easy to land (I know it's a skillshot but it has quite a range). A devious slow and AoE knockup is already a lot. Let's hope your team gets the bait.

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Again, iniciation by displacement. Using Exploding Cask in between the enemy team is just what a slaughter calls for. Be aware that they can still move during it's flight time, so the results are easily something unexpected, unless you know what you are doing. Also, a part of Janna concerns you.

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I doubt you need to read it, but you have 2 ways to initiate. To aid, you have assaulting amounts of MS, so positioning shouldn't be a big issue. You can forcibly mispossition with Devastating Charge. Make sure you use it in the same conditions as Alistar's Headbutt. Onslaught of Shadows if conditions for Devastating Charge are not met. Make sure the action point for the fear is right in the middle of them.

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This is not iniciation. It's COUNTER-iniciation. Easy example is Amumu coming in, popping ulti. Your job is now to get in a good spot to divide their team in 2 or 3 and take them peice by piece. You can keep Monsoon up for a while to heal. Then use Howling Gale and Zephyr to keep them apart. Enjoy your support awesomness.

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I think I will never master her ways, but with good coordination she can initiate well. She can provide a MS buff, a slow debuff... The cherry on top of the cake is Intervention, providing time to a bad iniciator (or herself) to survive a bit more, while the opposing team is wasting abilities. Risky move, though!

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She has almost everything for a perfect engage. A gapcloser with a supress and plenty of movement debuffs is only hindered by her squishy nature. She is and probably will always be an excelent addition for engaging comps.

Is your team a bit far away from you, but close enough? Did you find a poor enemy with no teammates to be seen? Do you feel like screaming to people? Nether Grasp will call attention from everyone and buy tima for your team to finish the job.

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Aoe stun, a skillshot knockup as wide as a lane (almost) and heal with poking potential. If you want more, don't play League of Legends.

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Decent traps and poking will probably keep them on Recal mode. Nothing more she can do. If they insist on staying, your team can stomp them, after you bruised them from afar.

Squishy basterd. Gets someone off-guard and gets the kill... Risks too much and gets killed as well. I really think he should be a baker... His advantage come from early kills (gapclose+stun). He can always be of use to pick someone to stun and burst.

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His nature is the bushes scattered around. If he is not too squishy, he can seize a good chance, even though he'd rather do it in the jungle. He has no CC other than a single target sometimes-root, so you shouldn't rely on him for it. He can go in as you go in, but don't make him waste his Thrill of the Hunt.

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She can do it if she comes by surprise. She can close gaps with Valor and Broken Wings, ending with a Knockback and probably a stun. I mean... OUCH??? Besides, she will be rather tanky, and a very good excuse for an AD stacker. Still this is only advised if you have a clear advantage, like Shyvana, since you'll probably fit the zoning type.

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Call your team when someone falls into your traps.

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Also should come by surprise by popping Dragon's Descent. However, save it for channels or saving someone, despite the knockback not being so big. Initiate only if you have a clear advantage, as suggested by past teamfights.

Stunning!! I mean... Cryptic Gaze someone where they shouldn't be. Simple, right? You are barelly a carry, and neither a (real) tank, but if you can land the stun, that guy is probably as dead as you. I mean, a bit more.

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If you can't use Crescendo properly, don't play Sona. Late game she is not as usefull, except for walking around with a stunning note. Once again, make sure it hits everyone. Your team should be able to do the rest.

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It has an annoying delay, but Nevermove can grab someone not paying attention. Better use it than do nothing.

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Knowing how to use Pillar of Filth is key to mastering Trundle. Terrain manipulation is your way, a bit like Anivia. If you manage to separate the enemy team with it you'll have a good time.

Another skillshot. However, Chain of Corruption is rather long lasting, picking enemies one by one. Very good in jungle fights, as mobility there is harder.

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Your traps work better than Shaco's. You might not even need your team, but if you manage to trap someone in Event Horizon your team will profit from it.

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Number six is around and will pinpoint anyone to the ground. Assault and Battery is an amazing displacement and "turn the tables" tool. Having a synergyzing passive with HP and a secondary gap-closer makes her something to fear. Probably much better than Wukong in this matter.

Much like Malzahar. However, you can stand damage better (considering now popular Lanewick builds), so you will have less reservations on using Infinite Duress to initiate. Be carefull since it too is a channel and you can be interrupted, so your prey will run free and you'll be dead meat.

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Being an offtank, it might not be easy. The requirements are tankiness, good local map awareness and a good knowledge of this champion. If you can also add a very good use to your stealth, you can just have a ok iniciation by placing yourself in the middle of the enemy team to Cyclone as many as possible.

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Read Brand in this section. It may be a bit safer due to bigger range (you'll be rooted, though).

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Reworked. Probably much better now, since players will chose to build him tankier. You can simply pick a target and sweep away the remaining team. Great potential to this "new" guy.

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Follow the reaper. If you go with him I can guarantee you will be able to give some damage, as he will probably won't mind to just walk up to them. His Omen of Famine helps. However, if the AD carry is not nearby, he will not be able to put his Omen of Death into best use and die.

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Read Kayle in this section. He falls off at lategame, but his ulti is always good.

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Lux copycat in this regard. I have not tried her yet, but snaring someone or going for another good lock from Stranglethorns will be of great help.

Items to Get

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Nice AP and Mres, but certainly the aura is it's signature. Almost mandatory on Galio as it will boost his AP twice. In overview, a very good item if you bring plenty of AoE Amumu or has significant magic damage dealers (example, besides your mid carry, you might have Vladimir or Mordekaiser top. Bringing Abyssal Scepter as Amumu here might be funny).

On the other side, when I'm Galio I may think twice if I really need this. Shut down AP-carry and no other big Magic Damage dealer, adding to a AD oriented team, might be better to build something else first. Also notice this: Reducing someone's Mres from 70 to 50 is way better than reducing from 200 to 180. For more indepth information about this, check Complexicate's Guide. Also, it may bring a larger impact if you already have a champion that reduces Mres, such as Amumu, Fiddlesticks or Soraka.

Might not be ideal if you are building tanky. Mainly an early item for Galio. Chalice of Harmony will do him a lot while in lane and he does like the CDR aferwards. Only really justifiable if you have mana issues early game and facing a magic damage dealer.

I still have some doubts about the effectiveness of this item, but has already found its uses. Since it relieves you of tying yourself to the now removed Promote, Banner of Command allows you to split-push. However, for better results, you will probably have to use Teleport, making this a double edged sword (or not, depending on how you take advantage of it). Being rather cheap, can make itself of use to supprts, but my initial thoughts were on Rammus and Malphite.

However, Shen will make it much more efficient and Nunu seems to show himslef as a split-pushing threat. Another addition of S3 will combine well with this one: Ohmwrecker. This may imply a large commitment and you'll have to make sure it is worth your gold.

Usually one of the last items to get, getting it early might have very fortunate consequences in laning phase. Very good as a tankiness provider, since it adds HP and Mres (also mana, but it only is really important on Blitzcrank, as a tank). This can shut down your midlaning foe ( Sion will hardly stun you and LeBlanc will have trouble comboing on you). However, not really worth it against spammers like Cassiopeia and Ryze.

This item might keep you sane while your team was stunned by Sona or knocked up by Malphite (that sounded wierd...). On the other hand, this item was probably a lot better before, since you may have to manage 45 seconds whitout shield. But that is punishement for being careless or a fari price to pay for some smooth iniciation. Might also protect you from an unforgiving Nidalee spear.

This item has its uses. However, you'll have to make the choice early so choose well. I see this item as perfectly fitting assassins like Shaco and Evelynn. Why should you get it? To roam, and that is exactly what those 2 were built for: Roam for kills. The problem is: you're a tank. Getting kills by yourself might bring more problems than kills.

This will be usefull if you jungle and are made for ganking/warding, you can push a lot and are avaiable for a gank or you need to farm a lot and go to and from your team. This last option may be the oddest, since you should always be with your team. The exception for me
is the need to clear lanes/push turrets when all your team sees is the other team under their turret. I accept this can be dangerous if there isn't another tanky, protecting guy, but this yelds the popular strategy of split pushing.
I usually see this on a jungle Alistar or a strangely active Amumu. Also seeing increased popularity on support Blitzcrank. I can built it on Rammus if ganking locations demand it (top to bottom). Lastly, you must remember this is not an optimal option.

Very popular on Amumuand Cho'Gath, for obvious reasons, I belive. It gives you a boost comparable to the vast majority of the champions for imidiate chasing, but falls clearly off to Boots of Mobility for long distance mobility. Not really a choice for me in other champions.

You can hardly not get this item of AWESOMENESS. 90 armor, so that Thornmail gets some credit and a very interesting aura to counter AD-carries or AS based offtanks. With S3 changes, it may be debatable how to build it. I recommend Glacial Shroud if you need CDR and mana, Warden's Mail if you are laning against an AD-AS champion (rare).

This is extremely usefull in mana dependant, high CD champions and you need some armor. Or simply if you are Rammus or Malphite (this one already has a AS debuff so it will have a larger impact on AS based teams). Examples of champions reliant on this particular item are Amumu, Leona, Blitzcrank (for mana and armor, not exactly cdr, but it's always wellcome) and Sejuani. As some may know, also works fine on Morgana It's not uncommon that this is the first or second item I complete (after boots). Again, it's an aura item, so discuss who builds this with your team.

700 unconditional HP can't go unnoticed. However, it's hard for a tank to need this. Notable exceptions are Lee Sin and possibly Shen (doing well and need more lane domination in TTT? Frozen Mallet will be your best friend). Another tank where this was popular was Sejuani but I never understood it and I've never seen it since her release.

Consider this as a surprise item to get if your team does really well, you have spare money for it (and it should be a lot of spare gold) and need some HP. I do not advise it it any other circumstances, except if you are playing some special champion. This is more of an offtank item, so it won't make much sense to use it in champions that are not Lee Sin and Shen ( Volibear can go for it as well).

Popular end item for carries, taking somehow the space of Banshee's Veil. It has some good mix of armor and Mres and a gamechanging passive. First reason to get this is if you are focused/killed a lot. If this strange phenomena happens, your team needs your CC desperatly and you need both Armor and Mres, but already have enough HP, this is the item to get.

If you need the 3, you should probably get Aegis of the Legion (if your team is taking a lot of damage too) or you should plan your build a bit better or even farm more/risk less. Usually mandatory on Galio since he has to risk a bit to get a nice Idol of Durand and just building Mres is kind of silly in this balanced meta. Make sure you really need it (my friend Cho'Gath player builds it after stacking tons of HP to avoid losing Feast stacks). -.-'

Has been popular in combination with Muramana, in alternative to Trinity Force. Still not a big fan, altough I recognise it may be easier to get than the second. Any special reason to get it? I'm honestly not sure, but if you can abuse the Sheen and need some AoE in your kit, I guess it can be a decent option.

I used to not care at all for this item. But it is great. If, for whatever reason, that CDR item you usually get isn't viable or you need it sooner, get these. On a safe/easy top ( Darius, lol), volatile bot situation at TTT, I get theses pretties soon so that Stand United is up as fast as possible. Another champion I get them for is Blitzcrank. The condition is a long, harassable laning phase, with the chance of a successful grab and no much strain in warding (meaning your teamates are warding too = no need to roam as much).

Other tanky supports like it, but i think the big user of these is Leona. Now that i play her more, and taking advantage of the fact that a Leona botlane can be something hard to not fall to, I might consider not taking them and go straight Shurelya's Reverie and Frozen Heart. You should only do this if you have been geting plenty of money, meaning assists for you and kills for your carry.
Lategame it is probably wise to change these for Mercury's Treads, but only if you are not too afected by longer Cooldowns. If you don't need them, don't build them. It only works decently in some champions.

Currently an awefully popular item, mainly among junglers, it can be built virtually on anyone, being so cost efficient. Even cheaper now, and you really want to get it early, as it loses its impact the longer the game goes on.

Evidently, if you forget to use the active, you'd be better off with something else, probably Aegis of the Legion, but notice their differences, since you probably will miss the 10%CDR. Now a very good option for supportive tanks, not to say this behaves as a multipurpose protective tool.

The epitome of boots, or so it is belived. Even though you're a tank and you can profit from other boots, this can be the only Mres you get for a while (bad example of mine, I belive) and Tenacity is usefull. You might consider other boots for your early or mid game, since these are a bit expensive. Serious options usually come in the form of Ionian Boots of Lucidity and Boots of Mobility.
Furthermore, 25 Mres is very nice on boots. Nothing much to say here since these are pretty much standard.

I usually forget these, but I like them more since there is no dodge mechanic. Rather usefull if you can taunt or just facing a heavy AD-team. Tough choice for Galio, though. Either way, if you have to choose this for Galio, you shouldn't have picked him to start with. Comparing with Mercury's Treads, 25 armor seems low, but maybe justified by cost. Also 10% is plenty (100 in 1000)

Riot never makes up their minds. I really thing this item made much more sense when it had armor. Nonetheless, it doesn't see that much play since people rush towers, preferably with no dives.

Is it good? Sure it is! Provided you don't waste it. It is usually better to use the active after you made sure there is a commitment on you team to dive (there should always be, in any case). Its build has issues since you probably would like to sit on Philosopher's Stone and Blasting Wand is expensive and underwhelming, but it can fit a very precise role in your strategy.

Heart of Gold, I miss you. So wonderfull were the days I'd rush you for huge profit. Either way, Randuin's Omen is now better, maybe to make up for losing its most important piece. Even though it lost Hp regen.

Again, never forget to use the active. It can be gamechanging, especially if you are missing a Malphite or Lee Sin for AS reduction (combining this item with either will probably shutdown AS based comps, mainly auto-attackers). Always a good choice, it not the top one for armor and hp, competing with Sunfire Cape, even though I have my preference.

Why is this item here? Easy: Lane sustain from Catalyst the Protector, 630 HP and 80 AP. It looses a bit of gas once you reach lv18, because you can't level up more, but it can have a very big inpact ingame, especially if you know when to build it. Cho'Gath, Galio and Morgana are notable users.

The rule to get this is the need for HP and AP, from needing leveling sustain. You can't stress the need of laning sustain enough, since staying more time in lane means more XP and gold. However, take care in deciding if you should go buy something or not. Overstaying in lane can be bad, mainly if you don't manage to kill your adversary. This will only mean he has more items than you, therefore, more deadly (or resilient, but that shouldn't be so much a problem if it is just a sustain lane. carefull with ganks though.) Hardly an item to get if you are jungling, plus not having luck with ganks. Jungling tanks will probably build Heart of Gold and Philosopher's Stone to provide blue to mid or top.

Has been increasingly popular. Started with support prioritizing. Then Jungler getting it, before Randuin's Omen. Sometimes top gets it too. And I'm starting not to understand the fever. The last drop was seeing my brother and friends playing. 3 Shurelya's Reverie: Janna, Nautilus and Cho'Gath. This was plenty of CC to win a game.

Guess what: they lost! To me, the cause was obvious. This item has a sweet active (MS is precious btw) but this was too much. Tailwind, Nautilus with Boots of Mobility and Cho'Gath with Boots of Swiftness was plenty. So, it is my understanding that Shurelya's Reverie is a very good midgame support item, but it lacks the tankiness stats needed from mid to lategame. I think 2 is plenty. Talk with your team, make sure it is needed from your Philosopher's Stone (I usualy sell it) because you'll need to be much more tanky than what this item provides. Also, If you already have a Aegis of the Legion, you'll be wasting your time on buying this. It's my opinion, but I belive I have a point. Consider it well.

For funsies...You really have to know what you are doing to get this. I never buy it (notable exceptions ahead). I rarely see it on tanks, although Ryze without it is not as scary and Morgana can tank well with it too.

Almost forgot about this one. This is definatly an item if you alreay have sustain (famous users are Warwick and Yorick). However, this can be more. It serves as a decent early anti-burst tanky item. In my theory crafting, you can start Nul-Magic Mantle to build this on Morgana. Just theory, though. It would only work against AP-relying assassins like LeBlanc or Kassadin. Can also synergise with Bulwark.

The other guy that loves this is Volibear. Also might have some decency in a laning Cho'Gath or Shen since these won't sustain a lot in teamfights. Best used against AP-stackers or magic damage dealers in general. I tend to forget about it during game, but can be quite rewarding.

The first time I built it, I loved it. It was on Nasus. The second time was on Rammus since it was recomended and it had armor. Since then I only got it once and that was a month ago when I was playing Rammus again and the game really called for armor and HP Already had Giant's Belt and Chain Vest so, why not?. Also, the aura had been buffed.

I still feel it is a suboptimal item and not adequate to my playstyle. However, If you are really desperate for some closerange damage, armor and HP, go for it. You might play in a way it works better or you simply like it and build it most of the time.

Your affordable Defensive Ball Curl. Rammus loves this item, but this is not limited to him. Taunters in generel can get it, also provides a nice buff to Malphite. This is mainly aimed at counterbuilding, so you should only get it if you are facing an AD-heavy team or the AD enemy champions are fed. Seems a bit expensive but it makes a big difference.

Usually known as the "Jack of all trades, master of none" it is a fine allaround item that justifies it's cost. Otherwise noone would use it. It's use in tanks is debatable. As you may know, it is recomended for Blitzcrank, Lee Sin and Leona, for example. Since it basically gives a bit of everything (except for armor and Magic Resist) you should make sure you can really profit from it. Otherwise just leave it for your offtank or possibly your AD-carry.

If you are one of the mentioned examples this item will boost your damage output nicelly, since Sheen only looks for your base AD and 250HP is always wellcome. In most cases, 30AP is ok and wellcome as well. Also, make sure you buy it in the correct order and not too hastily ( Blitzcrank likes Sheen, Lee Sin likes Phage more).

If you are in need of a lot of HP, there will probably be no other option but this. 1000 bonus HP is a lot. Since I get Giant's Belt I hardly won't build this. However, because of the way I build and play, I die a bit due to stubbornly buying Armor and Mres first, without compensating with more HP. Early on might be a hard balance, but once you get this, you'll be a huge wall of whatever.

It took me a while to undersand it's utility, but now i know how good it is. Recently lost its AS Aura, but is very usefull as a support item. Very offensive option, provides a considerable amount of sustain to your ADC, at least. While AD top, jungle and adc might be too counterable, this one migh keep you ahead.

However, may very well not be worth it in many team compositions that would rather choose a bit more tankyness or other offensive qualities like Abyssal Scepter or Will of the Ancients.

After you look at the AP you feel a bit sad about the armor bonus. However it is buyable. Rammus is a notable user, I swear. Never tried it on Malphite, though. Another good user, and a must-have for this role, is Morgana. In early teamfights she will feel rather vulnerable, and will, between a mix of Catalyst the Protector, Glacial Shroud and some boots, probably run for this time-measurement device.

Please note that it is a rather expensive item, considering its defensive stats. Too expensive if you don't use the active correctly, and as costly as 5tons of platinum if you, on top of all that, have bad AP ratios. If you are a standard tank you should only get this if you are doing well but sometimes run low on HP or if somehow your team needs a damage boost.

Final Notes

First, I should thank you for reading my "guide" and, possibly, voting. But I ask you to Justify your vote. So, please, do it as best as you can.
Also, and as requested (yes, I barely read that part and you should feel lucky for it) credits to j... jho... (well that's hard... let me check again...)

Ermmm... I thank jhoijhoi and her make a guide. Not as neat as whatever, but I tried (points for effort, i demandz them!)

rudmed and Complexicate should me mentioned for their work was well. Plus, fellow MOBA that reviewed this page have my "thank you".

Also, I should mention (again) Hahano. As owner of the top rated guide I thank him for such an informative and rather inspiring guide. I probably won't make such a complete guide. If such will be true, I hope someone will have the patience for it (tanks, carries, you name it)

League of Legends is a team based, real time strategy game set in a mythical world of swords & magic where epic battles decide the fate of mystical nations. Game players take on the role of a Summoner who conjures and controls champions to fight for them at the Institute of War. During game play champions gain experience and items to enhance their skills and abilities. How players develop and play their champions can be the difference between a crushing defeat or a glorious victory!